Sanitary slipper



Nov. 18, 1941. D. KOCH SANITARY SLIPPER Filed May 8, 1940 Ill IIIIH.

Invenc'r. Danie! Koch l ATTys.

Patented Nov. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PTENT OFF-ICE SANITARY SLIPPER Daniel Koch, Boston, Mass.`

Applicatin 8, 19403 Serial N0. 333,889.

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a sanitary slipper designed for the use of physicians, surgeons', nurses, etc., and which is constructed to be worrr over ones regular shoes.

Modern hospitals, especially in the surgical departments, take extreme precautions against possible transfer of germs, and absolute cleanliness (in medical language, asepsis) is; essential. In order to maintain this essential condition of cleanliness, it is customary for those performing or assisting at an operation to don absolutely clean and sterilized outer garments.

While the wearing of such sterilized garments is most important, yet in order to secure a complete chain of cleanliness without any break which might be a source of potential danger to the patient insofar as possible infection is concerned, it is desirable that the shoes of the surgeon, his assistant and the nurses should also be protected so that they cannot act as germ carriers; If those entering an operating room wear the same shoes in which they have walked on the street, there is a possibility that dirt from the street will be brought onto the floor of the operating room by the shoes, especially if the shoes have worn or rough soles or heels. Such a condition would produce a break in the chain of cleanliness which is so essential in connection with surgical operations.

An object of my invention is to provide a nov f' sanitary slipper which can be easily put on over ones regular shoes and which, when on the foot, will completely enclose the shoe, thus making it impossible for any dirt or germs which may be carried bythe shoe to be deposited on the oor of the operating room.

My improved sanitary slipper can be inexpensively made and may be in the nature of a single-service slipper, so that when it has been once worn and has served its purpose, it may be burned or thrown away. In order to give an understanding of the invention, I have illustrated in the drawing some embodiments thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary slipper embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the slipper,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a partial perspective View showing a different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section. on. they line 5-5,.Fig..4.

Fig. 6v is: a fragmentaryA sectional view showing a diierent'embodirnentE of the invention.

Fig. 'l is a fragmentary'view' illustrating a reinforced tie string which may ybe. employed..

My improvedy sanitary slippery may be made froml paper orY fabric or any other'suitable material. In Fig.. 1 I4 have: shown a. slipper made from crepe paper and which may be. regarded as The Vamp 3 has its peripheral edge, 5 overlying the peripheral edge of the sole member 2 and it isv sewedk theretor byA meansr of.' stitches 6; The

`Vamp' 3 is constructed so that it is stretchable in a transversev drection,.and: if. the sanitary slipper is made fromV crepe paper, then. the vamp Will' be out from the paper-Y so. that the crinkles therein will extend iorexand aft in the vamp member 3, as indicated by the shading lines in Fig. 1.

A crepe paper is stretchable to a certain extent in a direction transverse to the direction of the crinkles.

The quarter 4 extends vertically and the lower edge I thereof is bent outwardly and overlies the peripheral edge of the heel portion of the sole, said outwardly bent edge portion 1 of the quarter being secured to the sole by stitches 6. The vertical dimension of the quarter is somewhat greater than that of the vamp 3 at the instep end so that the upper edge of said quarter 4 stands somewhat above the vamp 3 at its highest point. which is indicated at 8 in Fig. 2. If the quarter is made of crepe paper, I propose to so cut it that the crinkles Awill extend vertically, as shown by the shading in Fig. 1. In this way the quarter will be capable of stretching in a direction parallel to the sole.

The front edges 9 of the quarter extend forwardly beyond the rear edge I0 of the vamp 3 so that the forward edges of the quarter have an overlapping relation with respect to the rear part of the vamp.

The upper edge of the quarter 4 is provided with a binding strip II which embraces said upper edge and is sewed thereto by stitches I2. This binding extends considerably beyond the front edges of the quarter on both sides and thereby forms extending tie strips I3 by which the shoe can be firmly tied to the wearers feet.

55 The edge of the sole is enclosed in a binding strip I4 which embraces the sole edge throughout its periphery and also encloses the edge 5 of the vamp and the out-turned edge 'I of the quarter 4. The line of stitching 6 serves to secure the binding strip I4 to the sole as well as to secure the edge of the vamp `and the edge of the quarter to said sole.

The slipper will be made large enough so that it can be readily put on over ones shoes. The transverse stretchable character of the vamp permits the vamp to stretch slightly if necessary in order to permit the foot to be inserted into the slipper. When the slipper is on, the tie strings I3 will be drawn closely around the ankle of the wearer and firmly tied, and because of the relation between the front edges of the quarter and the rear edge of the vamp, the shoe of the wearer will be entirely enclosed in the sanitary slipper when the tie strings are firmly tied.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is illustrated a modified form of the invention in which the vamp 3a is made of some material, such as canvas or other fabric, which does not have inherent elasticity or transverse stretchability. In order to provide the vamp with a capacity for transverse stretching I propose to sew on elastic band I6 to the inside of the vamp at a point somewhat in front of the rear edge Ia thereof, and in so doing, the elastic will be sewed to the fabric by means of stitches I'I when in a stretched condition. After the sewing is done and the elastic cord has been released, it will resume its normal length which will result in crinkling the material vof the vamp 3a at the point where the elastic is attached as shown at I8.

When the sanitary slipper is put onto the foot over the shoe, the elastic band I6 will stretch to permit the foot to be entered into the slipper, and the elasticity of said band will cause the upper of the slipper to tightly hug the shoe situated within it. The device shown in Fig. 4 is also provided with the tie strings i3d by which the upper edge of the quarter may be tied tightly around the ankle of the person Wearing the slipper.

A sanitary slipper made of duck, canvas or some other fabric can be worn repeatedly and will thus not necessarily be in the nature of a single-service article. It will be understood, however, that the slippers should be thoroughly sterilized after each use thereof.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a slightly different construction in which the tie strings are re-inforced so as to increase their strength. This may be done by folding a cord 2| into the `binding strip I Ia, which is sewed to the top of the quarter by the stitches I2a, as shown in Fig. 6, and by extending the cord 2| the full length of the tie strings which are designated in Fig. '7 as I3a. In this embodiment, the tie string would be formed by folding a binding strip around the cord 2I and stitching the two sides together, as shown at I2a.

I claim: f

A sanitary slipper adapted to be worn over ones shoes, said slipper comprising a sole member, a vamp member having its edge voverlying and stitched to the edge of the sole, said vamp member being stretchable transversely, an upstanding quarter having its lower edge bent outwardly and overlying and stitched to the edge of the sole member, said quarter being formed of material which is stretchable in a direction lengthwise of the sole, the forward edges of the quarter being situated in front of and overlapping the rear edge of the Vamp, said quarter extending above the top of the vamp, and a binding strip secured to the upper edge of the quarter and having its ends extending forwardly a sufficient distance from the quarter to form tie strings for tying the shoe on the foot of the wearer.

DANIEL KOCH. 

